Generally speaking, endoscopes may be used for various diagnostic and medical procedures. Endoscopes may be used in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of diseases and disorders that typically require a physician to access and navigate internal anatomical lumens within a patient's body and body cavities, such as the abdomen. Once the endoscope is positioned in a desired body portion, a treatment instrument may be advanced through a working channel of the endoscope to the desired body portion.
For example, in certain tissue dissection procedures, a resection device, such as a needle or a surgical blade, may be directed through the working channel of the endoscope, and the endoscope may be maneuvered to a desired tissue location. The resection device may include one or more sharp edges or points configured to cut certain target tissue for treatment or examination purposes.
Due to the sharp edges and points on the resection device, the potential for undesired damage to the walls of the working channel and, in some cases, non-targeted tissue, exists. The medical device and related methods of the present disclosure are directed to improvements in the existing technology.
As another example, in certain tissue dissection procedures, a suction device, such as a suction tube, may be directed through the working channel of the endoscope, and the endoscope may be maneuvered to a desired tissue location. The suction device may be configured to grasp certain target tissue for manipulation by other endoscopic instruments, for example, forceps, graspers, snares, probes, scissors, knives, retrieval devices, lasers, and, the like.
A conventional suction device may be positioned relative to the target tissue by movement of the endoscope. In other words, the endoscope is articulated, steered, shifted, pulled, and/or pushed by the physician to place the suction device at or near the target tissue. A second operator, such as another physician or a physician's assistant, may then control the operation of the suction device once positioned at or near the target tissue.
Adjusting the position of the suction device by moving the endoscope may be time consuming, cumbersome, and not accurate. In addition, moving the endoscope to move the suction device may also undesirably move other instruments. Accordingly, a need exists to simplify the manner and improve the accuracy in which the position of suction device is adjusted. The suction device and related methods of the present disclosure are directed to improvements in the existing technology.